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Classy Clarke

Gloucestershire (221-6) v Surrey (603)

A COUPLE of years ago, Gloucestershire fans were attributing their successes to a lucky chicken they took to each match. Perhaps they got hungry and ate it, because now their team languish second from bottom in the Championship table.

Yesterday, sweating in the field to the tune of more than 500 Surrey runs, their captain Chris Taylor dived to save a run and dislocated his shoulder. More problems arrived in the afternoon, when Rikki Clarke got hold of the ball. Having conceded 603, the Gloucestershire batsmen were already struggling against Martin Bicknell — who scored 76 with bat — and James Ormond’s accuracy, and were 70 for 1 when Craig Spearman looked to punish a wide ball from Clarke but instead saw Ali Brown catch it at slip. Two more Clarke wickets later and Gloucestershire were 83 for 5.

Earlier, Harbhajan Singh marked his last Championship game for Surrey with 84 off